2 Chronicles 6
1 Then Solomon said: The Lord promised that he would dwell in a cloud.
Then Solomon said, O Lord, to the sun you have given the heaven for a living-place, but your living-place was not seen by men,
2 But I have built a house to his name, that he might dwell there for ever.
So I have made for you a living-place, a house in which you may be for ever present.
3 And the king turned his face, and blessed all the multitude of Israel (for all the multitude stood attentive) and he said:
Then, turning his face about, the king gave a blessing to all the men of Israel; and they were all on their feet together.
4 Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who hath accomplished in deed that which he spoke to David my father, saying:
And he said, Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who himself gave his word to my father David, and with his strong hand has made his word come true, saying,
5 From the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel, for a house to be built in it to my name: neither chose I any other man, to be the ruler of my people Israel.
From the day when I took my people out of the land of Egypt, no town in all the tribes of Israel has been marked out by me for the building of a house for the resting-place of my name; and I took no man to be a ruler over my people Israel;
6 But I chose Jerusalem, that my name might be there: and I chose David to set him over my people Israel.
But now I have made selection of Jerusalem, that my name might be there, and of David, to be over my people Israel.
7 And whereas David my father had a mind to build a house to the name of the Lord the God of Israel,
Now it was in the heart of my father David to put up a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
8 The Lord said to him: Forasmuch as it was thy will to build a house to my name, thou hast done well indeed in having such a will:
But the Lord said to David my father, You did well to have in your heart the desire to make a house for my name:
9 But thou shalt not build the house, but thy son, who shall come out of thy loins, he shall build a house to my name.
But you yourself will not be the builder of the house; but your son, the offspring of your body, he it is who will put up a house for my name.
10 The Lord therefore hath accomplished his word which he spoke: and I am risen up in the place of David my father, and sit upon the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised: and have built a house to the name of the Lord God of Israel.
And the Lord has kept his word; for I have taken my father David's place on the seat of the kingdom of Israel, as the Lord gave his word; and I have made the house for the name of the Lord the God of Israel.
11 And I have put in it the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with the children of Israel.
And there I have put the ark, in which is the agreement of the Lord, which he made with the people of Israel.
12 And he stood before the altar of the I Lord, in presence of all the multitude of Israel, and stretched forth his hands.
Then he took his place in front of the altar of the Lord, all the men of Israel being present,
13 For Solomon had made a brazen scaffold, and had set it in the midst of the temple, which was five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high: and he stood upon it: then kneeling down in the presence of all the multitude of Israel, and lifting up his hands towards heaven,
(For Solomon had made a brass stage, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and had put it in the middle of the open space; on this he took his place and went down on his knees before all the meeting of Israel, stretching out his hands to heaven.)
14 He said: O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heaven nor in earth: who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:
And he said, O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth; keeping faith and mercy unchanging for your servants, while they go in your ways with all their hearts;
15 Who hast performed to thy servant David my father all that thou hast promised him: and hast accomplished in fact, what thou hast spoken with thy mouth, as also the present time proveth.
For you have kept the word which you gave to your servant David, my father; with your mouth you said it and with your hand you have made it come true this day.
16 Now then, O Lord God of Israel, fulfill to thy servant David my father, whatsoever thou hast promised him, saying: There shall not fail thee a man in my sight, to sit upon the throne of Israel: yet so that thy children take heed to their ways, and walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.
So now, O Lord, the God of Israel, let your word to your servant David, my father, come true, when you said, You will never be without a man to take his place before me on the seat of the kingdom of Israel; if only your children give attention to their ways, walking in my law, as you have done before me.
17 And now, Lord God of Israel, let thy word be established which thou hast spoken to thy servant David.
So now, O Lord, the God of Israel, make your word come true which you said to your servant David.
18 Is it credible then that God should dwell with men on the earth? If heaven and the heavens of heavens do not contain thee, how much less this house, which I have built?
But is it truly possible that God may be housed with men on earth? see, heaven and the heaven of heavens are not wide enough to be your resting-place: how much less this house which I have made:
19 But to this end only it is made, that thou mayest regard the prayer of thy servant and his supplication, O Lord my God: and mayest hear the prayers which thy servant poureth out before thee.
Still, let your heart be turned to the prayer of your servant and to his prayer for grace, O Lord my God, and give ear to the cry and the prayer which your servant makes before you;
20 That thou mayest open thy eyes upon this house day and night, upon the place wherein thou hast promised that thy name should be called upon,
That your eyes may be open to this house day and night, to this place of which you have said that you would put your name there; to give ear to the prayer which your servant may make, turning to this place.
21 And that thou wouldst hear the prayer which thy servant prayeth in it: hearken then to the prayers of thy servant, and of thy people Israel. Whosoever shall pray in this place, hear thou from thy dwelling place, that is, from heaven, and shew mercy.
And give ear to the prayers of your servant and of your people Israel, when they make their prayers, turning to this place; give ear from heaven your living-place; and hearing have mercy.
22 If any man sin against his neighbour, and come to swear against him, and bind himself with a curse before the altar in this house:
If a man does wrong to his neighbour and has to take an oath, and comes before your altar to take his oath in this house:
23 Then hear thou from heaven, and do justice to thy servants, so as to requite the wicked by making his wickedness fall upon his own head, and to revenge the just, rewarding him according to his justice.
Then let your ear be open in heaven, and be the judge of your servants, giving punishment to the wrongdoer, so that his sin may come on his head; and, by your decision, keeping from evil him who has done no wrong.
24 If thy people Israel be overcome by their enemies, (for they will sin against thee, ) and being converted shall do penance, and call upon thy name, and pray to thee in this place,
And if your people Israel are overcome in war, because of their sin against you; if they are turned to you again, honouring your name, making prayers and requesting your grace in this house:
25 Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them back into the land, which thou gavest to them, and their fathers.
Then give ear from heaven, and let the sin of your people Israel have forgiveness, and take them back again to the land which you gave to them and to their fathers.
26 If the heavens be shut up, and there fall no rain by reason of the sins of the people, and they shall pray to thee in this place, and confess to thy name, and be converted from their sins, when thou dost afflict them,
When heaven is shut up and there is no rain, because of their sin against you: if they make prayers with their faces turned to this place, honouring your name and turning away from their sin when you send trouble on them:
27 Then hear thou from heaven, O Lord, and forgive the sins of thy servants and of thy people Israel, and teach them the good way, in which they may walk: and give rain to thy land which thou hast given to thy people to possess.
Then give ear from heaven, so that the sin of your servants and the sin of your people Israel may have forgiveness, when you make clear to them the good way in which they are to go; and send rain on your land which you have given to your people for their heritage.
28 If a famine arise in the land, or a pestilence or blasting, or mildew, or locusts, or caterpillars: or if their enemies waste the country, and besiege the cities, whatsoever scourge or infirmity shall be upon them:
If there is no food in the land, if there is disease, if the fruits of the earth are damaged by heat or water, locust or worm; if their towns are shut in by their attackers: whatever trouble or whatever disease there may be:
29 Then if any of thy people Israel, knowing his own scourge and infirmity shall pray, and shall spread forth his hands in this house,
Whatever prayer or request for your grace is made by any man, or by all your people Israel, whatever his trouble may be, whose hands are stretched out to this house:
30 Hear thou from heaven, from thy high dwelling place, and forgive, and render to every one according to his ways, which thou knowest him to have in his heart: (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men: )
Then give ear from heaven your living-place, answering with forgiveness, and give to every man, whose secret heart is open to you, the reward of all his ways; (for you, and you only, have knowledge of the hearts of the children of men; )
31 That they may fear thee, and walk in thy ways all the days that they live upon the face of the land, which thou hast given to our fathers.
So that they may give you worship, walking in your ways, as long as they are living in the land which you gave to our fathers.
32 If the stranger also, who is not of thy people Israel, come from a far country, for the sake of thy great name, and thy strong hand, and thy stretched out arm, and adore in this place:
And as for the man from a strange land, who is not of your people Israel but comes from a far country because of the glory of your name and your strong hand and your outstretched arm; when he comes to make his prayer, turning to this house:
33 Hear thou from heaven thy firm dwelling place, and do all that which that stranger shall call upon thee for: that all the people of the earth may know thy name, and may fear thee, as thy people Israel, and may know, that thy name is invoked upon this house, which I have built.
Then give ear from heaven your living-place, and give him his desire, whatever it may be; so that all the peoples of the earth may have knowledge of your name, worshipping you as do your people Israel, and may see that this house which I have made is truly named by your name.
34 If thy people go out to war against their enemies, by the way that thou shalt send them, and adore thee towards the way of this city, which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built to thy name:
If your people go out to war against their attackers, by whatever way you may send them, if they make their prayers to you turning their faces to this town of yours and to this house which I have put up for your name:
35 Then hear thou from heaven their prayers, and their supplications, and revenge them.
Then give ear from heaven to their prayer and their cry for grace, and see right done to them.
36 And if they sin against thee (for there is no man that sinneth not) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them up to their enemies, and they lead them away captive to a land either afar off, or near at hand,
If they do wrong against you, (for no man is without sin, ) and you are angry with them, and give them up into the power of those who are fighting against them, so that they take them away prisoners to a land far off or near;
37 And if they be converted in their heart in the land to which they were led captive, and do penance, and pray to thee in the land of their captivity, saying: We have sinned, we have done wickedly, we have dealt unjustly:
And if they take thought, in the land where they are prisoners, turning again to you, crying out in prayer to you in that land, and saying, We are sinners, we have done wrong, we have done evil;
38 And return to thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their captivity, to which they were led away, and adore thee towards the way of their own land which thou gavest their fathers, and of the city, which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built to thy name:
If with all their heart and soul they are turned again to you, in the land where they are prisoners, the land where they have been taken, and make their prayers, turning their eyes to their land which you gave to their fathers, and to the town which you took for yourself, and the house which I have made for your name:
39 Then hear thou from heaven, that is, from thy firm dwelling place, their prayers, and do judgment, and forgive thy people, although they have sinned:
Then give ear from heaven your living-place to their prayer and their cry, and see right done to them, answering with forgiveness your people who have done wrong against you.
40 For thou art my God: let thy eyes, I beseech thee, be open, and let thy ears be attentive to the prayer, that is made in this place.
Now, O my God, may your eyes be open and your ears awake to the prayers made in this place.
41 Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting place, thou and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O Lord God, put on salvation, and thy saints rejoice in good things.
Up! now, O Lord God, come back to your resting-place, you and the ark of your strength: let your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let your saints be glad in what is good.
42 O Lord God, turn not away the face of thy anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.
O Lord God, let him whom you have taken for yourself never be given up by you: keep in mind your mercies to David your servant.
